Thoughts on Teaching, Leadership, and Educational Technology

Last month, I had the opportunity to learn and share at San Gabriel Valley CUE's local ed tech conference, Techo de Mayo. During the conference, I attended a fantastic session by Bill Selak where he shared an awesome resource that I want to pass on.

Ever found a YouTube video at home that would be perfect for instructional use in the classroom, only to remember that YouTube is blocked at your school? Wouldn't it be great if you could download a video from YouTube, put it in your Dropbox or on a flash drive, and then transfer it to your school computer to show to your students? Well, you can through a great, free resource at www.clipconverter.cc. This fantastic, easy-to-use website enables you to paste in the URL (Web address) of a YouTube video, and the site will convert the video and download it to your computer. How cool is that?

Here are some great features of the site:

You can download a video in multiple formats. Unless you’re planning to do something fancy, you'll probably want to stick with the default setting of MP4.

If you prefer, you can download just the audio track of the video. To do this, select MP3.

This is my favorite...ClipConverter gives you the ability to crop, meaning you can download just a portion of the video. For example, if you only want to download and show 30 seconds of the video, you can designate which part of the video you want to download. This eliminates the need to fast forward to a particular part of the video.

If you're a visual learner, here’s a short tutorial video I put together showing you exactly how to use ClipConverter: https://vimeo.com/42620847

Again, thanks to Bill for sharing this cool tool during his session at Techo de Mayo. If you're not already following Bill's work (billselak.com and @billselak), I highly recommend you do so.

Those who know me personally know that I am a rule follower. Always have been, always will be. I think rules are important. Very important. Heck, when I text, I spell out all words, use proper punctuation, and capitalize appropriately. Why? Because those are the grammatical rules I was taught. I've been teased for my firm stance on adhering to rules. I've been told, "Lighten up, Brent. Don't be such a stickler." Here are my thoughts on the subject...

Rules must be followed. When rules aren't enforced, they're not rules -- they're suggestions. If there is no consequence for not following a rule, then it's not a rule, because rules must be followed. Suggestions, on the other hand, are things we'd like people to do, not expect them to do. If you're not going to enforce a rule, get rid of it.

A good rule is not arbitrary. Rather, it is put in place for a specific reason. From the time we were small children, we've had safety rules guiding our behavior. Don't run with scissors. Look both ways before crossing the street.Don't stick objects in an electrical outlet. All common rules there for our protection.

Rules must be enforced by everyone in the organization. Inconsistent rule enforcement sends the wrong message. For example, fighting is prohibited in all schools, and I think it's pretty safe to say this is a rule that is consistently enforced. But what about, say, a "no gum" rule? If Teacher A enforces the school's "no gum" policy but Teacher B allows students to chew gum, what is the result? First, Teacher A is going to be perceived as the "bad guy" for not allowing students to chew gum. Second, students are sent the message that some rules are important (no fighting) and some aren't (no gum), and that they get to choose when and where they follow certain rules. Yes, there are major and minor categories of rules, but all rules should be important. That's why they're rules.

Beware of the danger in suspending rules. When a rule is suspended ("Today you don't have to follow the rule"), it compromises the integrity of the rule. Again, it sends the message to students that on every other day, the rule is important, but not today. This is why I never used homework passes. I didn't want to send my students the message that homework is important and must be completed unless you have a pass. I felt that suspending the rule on homework would undermine the importance of the activity.

The Three C's: Clarity, Consistency, and Consequences. Without these three things, students can't be sure of what to expect. Regardless of whether or not they'll admit it, students want (and need) rules. They want the structure and security rules provide. Clarity, consistency, and consequences are imperative, because without them, a fourth C is produced -- confusion.

So now I must ask myself this question -- "Are all of my rules, both at school and at home, good rules?" Something to think about.

About Brent

Brent has worked in the field of education as a teacher and administrator for over 20 years. He is currently Principal of Alta Murrieta Elementary School in Murrieta, California. Read more about Brent here.